The number one sign of the Second Coming is the convergence of all the signs Jesus and the prophets said to look for. Jesus said, “When you see all these things take place, look up! Your salvation draws near” (Luke 21:28). What are the things Jesus and the prophets said to look for? Israel back in the land (Jeremiah 23:7-8)… The Jewish people back in control of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24)… The Gospel being preached to the whole world (Matthew 24:14)… And more. Today, we see these signs. Because we do, we can be confident we live in the season of His return. But Jesus cited other signs too. So did the prophets. And we see those signs as well.
In fact, for much of 2022, we appeared to be on the verge of seeing the events of Revelation 6 kick off at any moment, with the real possibility of global war (Revelation 6:4), global hyperinflation (Revelation 6:6), and widespread famine from an escalating food crisis (Revelation 6:8). As 2022 drew to a close, what were the biggest prophetic news stories? Below is a list of what I believe were the top three:
1) Rumors of War
Jesus said rumors of war will precede His return (Matthew 24:6). 2022 brought war between Russia and Ukraine, but it also brought countless rumors of an escalating conflict with NATO, as well as rumors of war in other parts of the world. In September, someone blew up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in what should be considered a major act of war. In years past, it would have been. But in 2022, it spent just a couple of days in the western media news cycle before being all but forgotten. Meanwhile, the United States and NATO continued to provide armaments and intelligence to Ukraine. Even worse, some reports claimed NATO had troops on the ground in Ukraine.
All these developments heightened tensions and led to rumors of an escalating conflict that would draw NATO into all-out war with Russia and spark a nuclear exchange. How bad did it get? While the U.S. defense readiness condition (DEFCON) level isn’t public, some estimate we’ve been at DEFCON 3 – a level reached only three times in history – for nearly all of 2022. None of those previous instances lasted more than a few days, yet some estimate we’ve been at DEFCON 3 since February 28. This is the longest period of heightened readiness in the more than six decades of the alert system’s existence. This means a strong case could be made that we’re closer to nuclear war now than we’ve ever been in the post-World War II period.
But the Russia/Ukraine conflict isn’t the only source of rumors of war. For all of 2022, Taiwan has lived under the threat of imminent Chinese invasion. Time and again, China has sent ships into nearby waters and warplanes into Taiwanese airspace. U.S. Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, took a provocative trip to Taiwan, and the United States threatened to respond militarily to any Chinese aggression.
Meanwhile, we continue to hear rumors of war in other parts of the world – Israel/Iran, India/China, North Korea/South Korea, and countless other places. The sheer number of possible conflicts between major powers, many armed with nuclear weapons, arguably makes this the most dangerous time since World War II.
2) Inflation
Price inflation hit the world with a vengeance in 2022. World leaders blamed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it did play a role in some of the inflation. But poor government policies and currency printing were the true culprits. Pandemic lockdowns caused major supply chain disruptions, and government stimulus programs pumped currency into every corner of the economy. How much stimulus was created? In the United States, more than 40% of all the dollars in existence were created in the last 3 years. More currency units chasing fewer goods and services will inevitably lead to higher prices, and that’s what we saw in 2022.
In Europe, decades of poor planning and naïve energy policies led to a surge in electricity and natural gas prices. In some cases, these prices rose as much as 20 times what they had been just one year before. This impacted all of European industry, leading to less production of energy-intensive products and forcing many businesses to completely shut down. One energy-intensive product, fertilizer, saw significant production cuts as European firms could no longer offer competitively priced products in the global marketplace. Lower supplies increased the global price of fertilizer, and the result will likely be higher food prices in the years ahead as less fertilizer leads to lower crop yields.
In addition, I believe we’re witnessing a collapse of the petro-dollar system, which has dominated global trade for the past fifty years. In fact, I believe 2022 signaled we’re in the last dying days of the entire global fiat currency system. The world is waking up to the fact that pieces of paper, electronic ones, and zeroes don’t have the same value as tangible items such as oil, natural gas, timber, aluminum, copper, gold, and silver.
The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have signaled their intent to develop an alternative to America’s SWIFT payment system as well as a commodity-backed currency to challenge the U.S. dollar. As 2022 draws to a close, a host of additional nations have expressed interest in joining the BRICS coalition. Among them are some of the most important producers of oil and natural gas on the planet – Nigeria, Iran, Argentina, Algeria, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia. If they succeed, and BRICS creates its own commodity-backed currency as an alternative to the U.S. dollar, it will destroy the U.S. dollar, and most of the world’s fiat currencies will plummet in value.
3) Central Bank Digital Currency
In 2022, governments all around the world telegraphed their support for central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Bank of International Settlements announced 9 out of 10 of the world’s central banks were exploring digital currency, and more than half were developing CBDCs or experimenting with or testing rollouts.
For example, in mid-November, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced a 12-week proof-of-concept project to “explore the feasibility of an interoperable network of central bank wholesale digital money and commercial bank digital money.” They aren’t alone. In mid-December, it was revealed that the Bank of England “will begin consultations on the design of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) which would act as a digital version of the pound sterling.” Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India announced the second stage of testing for its own CBDC. After successfully running a pilot program at the wholesale level, they announced they will now test the digital rupee in a retail setting.
Meanwhile, the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX led to calls for greater regulation of digital currencies from politicians all over the globe. Citing money laundering concerns, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has vowed to crack down on the entire crypto industry. You can be certain whatever legislation results will benefit CBDCs at the expense of decentralized alternatives such as Bitcoin.
What to Look for in 2023
Expect these same trends to continue in 2023. What will 2023 bring? We can only guess, but I believe the probability is high we will see a global financial crisis, the collapse of a major market currency, widespread famine, and social unrest. In my latest video, I cover all of these in greater detail. For more than fifty years now, all the world’s major currencies have been fiat currencies – meaning they have no intrinsic value or claim on anything of value. They only have purchasing power because people believe they do. That belief will significantly erode in 2023.
Combine these developments with countless others foretold in the Bible, and we can know the rapture, the Tribulation, and the Second Coming are now closer than they’ve ever been before. This is why the #1 event you should focus on is the return of our Savior. As we enter a new year, all the signs tell us, “Jesus is coming!”
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Britt Gillette is author of the free ebook Coming to Jesus as well as the books Signs of the Second Coming, Racing Toward Armageddon, and The End Times. Receive his book 7 Signs of the End Times for free when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.